Illumination system for illuminating a mask in a microlithographic exposure apparatus

ABSTRACT

An illumination system of a micro-lithographic projection exposure apparatus is provided, which is configured to illuminate a mask positioned in a mask plane. The system includes a pupil shaping optical subsystem and illuminator optics that illuminate a beam deflecting component. For determining a property of the beam deflecting component, an intensity distribution in a system pupil surface of the illumination system is determined. Then the property of the beam deflecting component is determined such that the intensity distribution produced by the pupil shaping subsystem in the system pupil surface approximates the intensity distribution determined before. At least one of the following aberrations are taken into account in this determination: (i) an aberration produced by the illuminator optics; (ii) an aberration produced by the pupil shaping optical subsystem; (iii) an aberration produced by an optical element arranged between the system pupil surface and the mask plane.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims benefit under 35 USC120 to, U.S. application Ser. No. 15/461,824, filed Mar. 17, 2017, whichis a continuation of, and claims benefit under 35 USC 120 to, U.S.application Ser. No. 15/062,531, filed Mar. 7, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No.9,599,904, which is a continuation of, and claims benefit under 35 USC120 to, U.S. application Ser. No. 13/901,306, filed May 23, 2013, nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,310,694, which is a continuation of, and claims benefitunder 35 USC 120 to, U.S. application Ser. No. 12/795,014, filed Jun. 7,2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,467,031, which is a continuation of, andclaims priority under 35 USC 120 to, international applicationPCT/EP2008/010622, filed Dec. 13, 2008, which claims benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/016,019, filed Dec. 21, 2007. U.S.application Ser. Nos. 15/461,824, 15/062,531, 13/901,306, 12/795,014 andinternational application No. PCT/EP2008/010622 are hereby incorporatedby reference in their entirety.

FIELD

The disclosure generally relates to an illumination system forilluminating a mask in a microlithographic exposure apparatus. Thedisclosure further relates to a method of determining deflection anglesto be produced by a beam deflecting component of a pupil shaping opticalsubsystem of such a system. Such a beam deflecting component may berealized as a diffractive optical element or a micro-electromechanicalsystem (MEMS), and in particular a digital micro-mirror device (DMD),for example.

BACKGROUND

Microlithography (also called photolithography or simply lithography) isa technology for the fabrication of integrated circuits, liquid crystaldisplays and other microstructured devices. More particularly, theprocess of microlithography, in conjunction with the process of etching,is used to pattern features in thin film stacks that have been formed ona substrate, for example a silicon wafer. At each layer of thefabrication, the wafer is first coated with a photoresist which is amaterial that is sensitive to radiation, such as deep ultraviolet (DUV)light. Next, the wafer with the photoresist on top is exposed toprojection light in a projection exposure apparatus. The apparatusprojects a mask containing a pattern onto the photoresist so that thelatter is only exposed at certain locations which are determined by themask pattern. After the exposure the photoresist is developed to producean image corresponding to the mask pattern. Then an etch processtransfers the pattern into the thin film stacks on the wafer. Finally,the photoresist is removed. Repetition of this process with differentmasks results in a multi-layered microstructured component.

A projection exposure apparatus typically includes an illuminationsystem for illuminating the mask, a mask stage for aligning the mask, aprojection objective and a wafer alignment stage for aligning the wafercoated with the photoresist. The illumination system illuminates a fieldon the mask that may have the shape of an elongated rectangular slit,for example.

In current projection exposure apparatus a distinction can be madebetween two different types of apparatus. In one type each targetportion on the wafer is irradiated by exposing the entire mask patternonto the target portion in one go; such an apparatus is commonlyreferred to as a wafer stepper. In the other type of apparatus, which iscommonly referred to as a step-and-scan apparatus or scanner, eachtarget portion is irradiated by progressively scanning the mask patternunder the projection beam in a given reference direction whilesynchronously scanning the substrate table parallel or anti-parallel tothis direction. The ratio of the velocity of the wafer and the velocityof the mask is equal to the magnification of the projection objective,which is usually smaller than 1, for example 1:4.

It is to be understood that the term “mask” (or reticle) is to beinterpreted broadly as a patterning device. Commonly used masks containtransmissive or reflective patterns and may be of the binary,alternating phase-shift, attenuated phase-shift or various hybrid masktype, for example. However, there are also active masks, e.g. masksrealized as a programmable mirror array. An example of such a device isa matrix-addressable surface having a viscoelastic control layer and areflective surface. More information on such mirror arrays can begleaned, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,891, U.S. Pat. No.5,523,193, U.S. Pat. No. 6,285,488 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,515,257 B1 and WO2005/096098 A2. Also programmable LCD arrays may be used as activemasks, as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,872. For the sake ofsimplicity, the rest of this text may specifically relate to apparatusincluding a mask and a mask stage; however, the general principlesdiscussed in such apparatus should be seen in the broader context of thepatterning device as hereabove set forth.

As the technology for manufacturing microstructured devices advances,there are ever increasing demands also on the illumination system.Ideally, the illumination system illuminates each point of theilluminated field on the mask with projection light having a welldefined intensity and angular distribution. The term angulardistribution describes how the total light energy of a light bundle,which converges towards a particular point in the mask plane, isdistributed among the various directions along which the raysconstituting the light bundle propagate.

The angular distribution of the projection light impinging on the maskis usually adapted to the kind of pattern to be projected onto thephotoresist. For example, relatively large sized features may involve adifferent angular distribution than small sized features. The mostcommonly used angular distributions of projection light are referred toas conventional, annular, dipole and quadrupole illumination settings.These terms refer to the intensity distribution in a pupil surface ofthe illumination system. With an annular illumination setting, forexample, only an annular region is illuminated in the pupil surface.Thus there is only a small range of angles present in the angulardistribution of the projection light, and thus all light rays impingeobliquely with similar angles onto the mask.

Different approaches are known in the art to modify the angulardistribution of the projection light in the mask plane so as to achievethe desired illumination setting. In the simplest case a stop(diaphragm) including one or more apertures is positioned in a pupilsurface of the illumination system. Since locations in a pupil surfacetranslate into angles in a Fourier related field plane such as the maskplane, the size, shape and location of the aperture(s) in the pupilsurface determines the angular distributions in the mask plane. However,any change of the illumination setting involves a replacement of thestop. This makes it difficult to finally adjust the illuminationsetting, because this would involve a very large number of stops thathave aperture(s) with slightly different sizes, shapes or locations.

Many common illumination systems therefore include adjustable elementsthat make it possible, at least to a certain extent, to continuouslyvary the illumination of the pupil surface. Conventionally, a zoomaxicon system including a zoom objective and a pair of axicon elementsare used for this purpose. An axicon element is a refractive lens thathas a conical surface on one side and is usually plane on the oppositeside. By providing a pair of such elements, one having a convex conicalsurface and the other a complementary concave conical surface, it ispossible to radially shift light energy. The shift is a function of thedistance between the axicon elements. The zoom objective makes itpossible to alter the size of the illuminated area in the pupil surface.

However, generally, with such a zoom axicon system only conventional andannular illumination settings can be produced. For other illuminationsettings, for example dipole or quadrupole illumination settings,additional stops or optical raster elements are involved. An opticalraster element produces, for each point on its surface, an angulardistribution which corresponds in the far field to certain illuminatedareas. Often such optical raster elements are realized as diffractiveoptical elements, and in particular as computer generated holograms(CGH). By positioning such an element in front of the pupil surface andplacing a condenser lens in between, it is possible to produce almostany arbitrary intensity distribution in the pupil surface. An additionalzoom-axicon system makes it possible to vary, at least to a limitedextent, the illumination distribution produced by the optical rasterelement.

However, the zoom axicon system often provides only limitedadjustability of the illumination setting. For example, it is notpossible to dislocate only one of the four poles of a quadrupoleillumination setting along an arbitrary direction. To this end anotheroptical raster element has to be used that is specifically designed forthis particular intensity distribution in the pupil surface. The design,production and shipping of such optical raster elements is a timeconsuming and costly process, and thus there is little flexibility toadapt the light intensity distribution in the pupil surface to the needsof the operator of the projection exposure apparatus.

For increasing the flexibility in producing different angulardistribution in the mask plane, it has been proposed to use mirrorarrays that illuminate the pupil surface.

In EP 1 262 836 A1 the mirror array is realized as amicro-electromechanical system (MEMS) including more than 1000microscopic mirrors. Each of the mirrors can be tilted in two differentplanes perpendicular to each other. Thus radiation incident on such amirror device can be reflected into (substantially) any desireddirection of a hemisphere. A condenser lens arranged between the mirrorarray and the pupil surface translates the reflection angles produced bythe mirrors into locations in the pupil surface. This known illuminationsystem makes it possible to illuminate the pupil surface with aplurality of circular spots, wherein each spot is associated with oneparticular microscopic mirror and is freely movable across the pupilsurface by tilting this mirror.

Systems are known from other patent documents such as US 2006/0087634A1, U.S. Pat. No. 7,061,582 B2 and WO 2005/026843 A2.

However, also with the use of pupil shaping optical raster elements, inparticular diffractive optical elements and mirror arrays, it can stillbe difficult to obtain the desired intensity distribution in the systempupil plane. In the case of diffractive optical elements the far fieldintensity distribution produced by a specific element is usually notobtained in the system pupil plane, because zoom lenses and axiconelements vary the far field intensity distribution. It has been shown,for example, that axicon elements have not only the desired influence onthe position of illuminated areas in the system pupil plane, but also onthe energy distribution within theses areas.

In the case of mirror arrays it has been found that the adjustment ofthe mirrors is very difficult if a specific angular distribution of thelight impinging on mask is desired.

SUMMARY

The disclosure provides a method for determining deflection angles to beproduced by a beam deflecting component of a pupil shaping opticalsubsystem, which is contained in an illumination system of amicrolithographic projection exposure apparatus, wherein this methodmakes it possible to approximate the real intensity distribution in thesystem pupil surface as close as possible to a target intensitydistribution.

In some embodiments, a method includes:

-   -   a) providing an illumination system of a microlithographic        projection exposure apparatus, wherein the illumination system        -   is configured to illuminate a mask positioned in a mask            plane,        -   includes the pupil shaping optical subsystem and        -   includes illuminator optics that illuminate the beam            deflecting component;    -   b) determining an intensity distribution in a system pupil        surface of the illumination system;    -   c) determining the deflection angles such that the intensity        distribution produced by the pupil shaping subsystem in the        system pupil surface approximates the intensity distribution        determined in step b), wherein at least one of the following        aberrations are taken into account in this determination:        -   i) an aberration produced by the illuminator optics;        -   ii) an aberration produced by the pupil shaping optical            subsystem;        -   iii) an aberration produced by an optical element arranged            between the system pupil surface and the mask plane.

The non-ideal behavior of optical elements described above may havesystematic causes or may be the product of tolerances that vary fromillumination system to illumination system. A systematic cause isassumed if it is identical with all illumination systems having the samedesign. Such systematic causes are therefore a result of designimperfections that cannot be completely avoided for cost reasons, forexample. The machine depending causes for the non-ideal behavior areusually a result of material imperfections, manufacturing tolerances orvarying ambient conditions.

The disclosure also provides a method of controlling a beam deflectingcomponent, which is contained in an illumination system of amicrolithographic projection exposure apparatus, wherein this methodmakes it possible to control the beam deflecting component such that itcan accurately produce an intensity distribution in a system pupilsurface of the illumination system which approximates as close aspossible a target intensity distribution.

In certain embodiments, a method includes:

-   -   a) providing an illumination system of a microlithographic        projection exposure apparatus, wherein the illumination system    -   is configured to illuminate a mask positioned in a mask plane        and    -   includes the beam deflecting component, wherein the beam        deflecting component produces an intensity distribution in a        system pupil surface and includes a beam deflection array of        reflective or transparent beam deflecting elements, wherein each        deflecting element illuminates a spot in the system pupil        surface having a position that can be varied by changing a        deflection angle produced by the beam deflecting element;    -   b) determining a target intensity distribution in a system pupil        surface of the illumination system;    -   c) determining an arrangement of spots in the system pupil        surface that approximates the target intensity distribution        determined in step b);    -   d) determining a function assigned to a beam deflecting element,        wherein the function describes a relationship between positions        of the spot illuminated by the beam deflecting element in the        system pupil surface on the one hand and the deflection angle        produced by the beam deflecting element when illuminating the        light spots on the other hand;    -   e) determining deflection angles that are involved to obtain the        arrangement of spots determined in step c) by using the function        determined in step d);    -   f) supplying control signals to the beam deflecting elements        such that the deflection angles determined in step e) are        produced.

The beam deflection elements may be configured as mirrors which can betilted by two tilt axes forming an angle therebetween. In someembodiments, the beam deflection elements are electro-optical oracousto-optical elements.

The disclosure further provides an improved diffractive optical elementwhich is configured to be inserted into a light beam path of anillumination system of a microlithographic projection exposure apparatussuch that it produces a desired intensity distribution in a system pupilsurface of the illumination system.

Some embodiments implement a Fourier transform of an angulardistribution produced by the diffractive optical element differs fromthe desired intensity distribution.

The desired intensity distribution may be defined by pupil quantitiesinner σ, outer σ and pole width. Values of the pupil quantities for thedesired intensity distribution then differ from corresponding values forthe Fourier transform of the angular distribution produced by thediffractive optical element by more than 0.1 (or even 0.2) for at leastone of the inner and outer σ and/or by at least 1° (or even 2°) for thepole width.

In some embodiments, differences between the Fourier transform of anangular distribution produced by the diffractive optical element and thedesired intensity distribution are determined such that an aberration,for example a deviation from the sine condition, produced by at leastone optical element of the illumination system are at least partlycompensated for.

The at least one optical element may be arranged in of one of the groupconsisting of:

-   -   illuminator optics which are configured to illuminate the        diffractive optical element,    -   a pupil shaping optical subsystem which is arranged between the        diffractive optical element and the system pupil surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various features and advantages of the present disclosure may be morereadily understood with reference to the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective and considerably simplified view of a projectionexposure apparatus in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a meridional section through an illumination system containedin the projection exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a mirror array contained in theillumination system of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section through the mirror array of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 illustrates how spots produced by individual beam deflectingelements may be arranged in the system pupil plane in order toapproximate a desired intensity distribution;

FIG. 6 is a schematic general layout scheme of the illumination systemshown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a control scheme in accordance with thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of the main components that areinvolved to carry out the control scheme outlined in FIG. 7;

FIGS. 9 to 13 are schematic illustrations similar to FIG. 8, but forother embodiments of the control scheme;

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of a method of determining deflection anglesto be produced by a beam deflecting component of a pupil shaping opticalsubsystem in accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a meridional section through an illumination system accordingto another embodiment contained in the projection exposure apparatusshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 16 is a graph that illustrates the far field intensity distributionproduced by a diffractive optical element in accordance with the priorart;

FIG. 17 is a graph that illustrates the actual intensity distribution inthe system pupil plane produced by the diffractive optical element inaccordance with the prior art;

FIG. 18 is a graph that illustrates the far field intensity distributionproduced by a diffractive optical element in accordance with the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 19 is a graph that illustrates the actual intensity distribution inthe system pupil plane produced by the diffractive optical element inaccordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 illustrates an intensity distribution in the system pupil planewhich corresponds to an X dipole setting;

FIG. 21 illustrates an intensity distribution in the system pupil planewhich corresponds to a Y dipole setting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. General Structure of Projection ExposureApparatus

FIG. 1 is a perspective and highly simplified view of a projectionexposure apparatus 10 that used in the manufacture of integratedcircuits and other microstructured components. The projection exposureapparatus includes an illumination system 12 containing a light sourcethat produces projection light and illumination optics that transformsthe projection light into a projection light bundle having carefullydefined properties. The projection light bundle illuminates a field 14on a mask 16 containing minute structures 18. In this embodiment, theilluminated field 14 has approximately the shape of a ring segment.However, other, for example rectangular, shapes of the illuminated field14 are contemplated as well.

A projection objective 20 images the structures 18 within theilluminated field 14 onto a light sensitive layer 22, for example aphotoresist, which is applied on a substrate 24. The substrate 24, whichmay formed by a silicon wafer, is arranged on a wafer stage (not shown)such that a top surface of the light sensitive layer 22 is preciselylocated in the image plane of the projection objective 20. The mask 16is positioned via a mask stage (not shown) in an object plane of theprojection objective 20. Since the projection objective 20 has amagnification of less than 1, for example 1:4, a reduced image 14′ ofthe structures 18 within the illuminated field 14 is formed on the lightsensitive layer 22.

II. First Group of Embodiments 1. General Structure of IlluminationSystem

FIG. 2 is a more detailed meridional section through a first embodimentof the illumination system 12 shown in FIG. 1. For the sake of clarity,the illustration of FIG. 2 is considerably simplified and not to scale.This particularly implies that different optical units are representedby very few optical elements only. In reality, these units may includesignificantly more lenses and other optical elements.

The illumination system 12 includes a housing 28 and a light source thatis, in the embodiment shown, realized as an excimer laser 30. Theexcimer laser 30 emits projection light that has a wavelength of about193 nm. Other types of light sources and other wavelengths, for example248 nm or 157 nm, are also contemplated.

In the embodiment shown, the projection light emitted by the excimerlaser 30 enters a beam expansion unit 32 in which the light bundle isexpanded without altering the geometrical optical flux. The beamexpansion unit 32 may include several lenses as shown in FIG. 2, or maybe realized as a mirror arrangement. The projection light emerges fromthe beam expansion unit 32 as a substantially collimated beam 34. Inother embodiments, this beam may have a significant divergence.

In this specific embodiment the collimated beam 34 impinges on a planefolding mirror 36 that makes it possible to reduce the overalldimensions of the illumination system 12.

After reflection from the folding mirror 36, the beam 34 impinges on anarray 38 of micro-lenses 40. A mirror array 46 is arranged slightly infront of a back focal plane of the micro-lenses 40. As will be explainedin more detail below, the mirror array 46 includes a plurality of smallindividual mirror elements M_(ij) that can be tilted, independently fromeach other, by two tilt axes that may be aligned perpendicularly to eachother. The total number of mirror elements M_(ij) may exceed 100 or evenseveral 1000. The reflecting surfaces of the mirror elements M_(ij) maybe plane, but could also be curved, if an additional reflective power isdesired. Apart from that, the mirror surfaces could be provided withdiffractive structures. The number of mirror elements M_(ij) is equal tothe number of micro-lenses 40 contained in the micro-lens array 38. Thuseach micro-lens 40 is assigned exactly to the one mirror element M_(ij)of the mirror array 46.

The tilting movements of the individual mirror elements M_(ij) arecontrolled by a mirror control unit 50 which is connected to an overallsystem control 52 of the illumination system 12. Actuators that are usedto set the desired tilt angles of the mirror elements M_(ij) receivecontrol signals from the mirror control unit 50 such that eachindividual mirror element M_(ij) is capable of reflecting an impinginglight ray by a reflection angle that is variable in response to thecontrol signal. In the embodiment shown there is a continuous range oftilt angles, and therefore reflection angles, at which the individualmirror elements M_(ij) can be arranged. In other embodiments, theactuators are configured such that only a limited number of discretetilt angles can be set.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the mirror array 46 including 8·8=64mirror elements M_(ij). Parallel light bundles 54 a impinging on themirror array 46 are reflected to different directions depending on thetilt angles of the mirror elements M_(ij). In this schematicrepresentation it is assumed that a particular mirror element M₃₅ istilted about two tilt axes 56 x, 56 y relative to another mirror elementM₇₇ so that the light bundles 54 b, 54 b′ which are reflected by themirror elements M₃₅ and M₇₇, respectively, are reflected into differentdirections.

The cross section of FIG. 4 illustrates how, in a YZ plane, parallellight may be reflected into different directions by a plurality ofadjacent mirror elements M_(ij) that are tilted by various tilt anglesin the YZ plane.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the illumination system 12 of this embodimentfurther includes a zoom lens system 58 having a variable focal length.The zoom lens system 58 is represented in FIG. 2 by a single lens whichis displaceable along an optical axis of the illumination system 12, asis indicated by double arrow 62.

Behind the zoom lens system 58 a pair 64 of axicon elements 66, 68having opposing conical surfaces is arranged. If both axicon elements66, 68 are in immediate contact, the axicon pair 64 has only the effectof a plane parallel plate. If both axicon elements 66, 68 are movedapart, as is indicated in FIG. 2 by a double arrow 69, the spacingbetween the axicon elements 66, 68 causes a shift of light energyradially outward. Since axicon elements are known as such in the art,these will not be explained here in further detail.

Reference numeral 70 denotes a system pupil surface of the illuminationsystem 12 that substantially defines the angular distribution of thelight impinging on the mask 14. The system pupil surface 70 is usuallyplane or slightly curved and is arranged in or in immediate vicinity ofan optical integrator 72 which produces a plurality of secondary lightsources. The optical integrator 72 is realized, in the embodiment shown,as a fly's eye lens including two substrates 74, 76 that each includestwo orthogonal arrays of parallel cylindrical microlenses. The opticalintegrator 72 increases the range of angles formed between the lightrays and an optical axis OA of the illumination system 12. As theangular distribution in the system pupil surface 70 directly translatesinto an intensity distribution in a subsequent field plane, the opticalintegrator 72 substantially determines the geometry of the illuminatedfield 14 on the mask 16. Since the optical integrator 72 increases therange of angles considerably more in the X direction then in the Ydirection, the illuminated field 14 has larger dimensions along the Xdirection than along the Y direction (i.e. the scan direction).

The projection light emerging from the secondary light sources producedby the optical integrator 72 enters a condenser 78 that is representedin FIG. 2 by a single lens only for the sake of simplicity. Thecondenser 62 ensures a Fourier relationship between the system pupilsurface 70 and a subsequent intermediate field plane 80 in which a fieldstop 82 is arranged. The condenser 78 superimposes the light bundles,which are produced by the secondary light sources, in the intermediatefield plane 80, thereby achieving a very homogenous illumination of theintermediate field plane 80. The field stop 82 may include a pluralityof movable blades and ensures sharp edges of the illuminated field 14 onthe mask 16.

A field stop objective 84 provides optical conjugation between theintermediate field plane 80 and the mask plane 86 in which the mask 16is arranged. The field stop 82 is thus sharply imaged by the field stopobjective 84 onto the mask 16.

The provision of the zoom lens system 58 and the axicon elements 66, 68is particularly useful if the total number of mirror elements M_(ij) issmall. This is because the small number of mirror elements M_(ij)provides only for a limited variability in illuminating the system pupilsurface 70. Particularly if there are many 1000 of individual mirrorelements M_(ij), the zoom lens system 58 and the axicon elements 66, 68may be completely dispensed with, or may be replaced by a condenseroptical system which translates the angle distribution produces by themirror elements M_(ij) into an intensity distribution in the systempupil plane 70.

It should be well understood that various alternative embodiments arepresently contemplated that are still within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

For example, the mirror array 46 may be replaced by any other deflectivestructure that makes it possible to direct light rays impinging on thestructure into various directions, wherein the directions can be changedindividually for different portions of the structure upon application ofa suitable control signal. Such alternative structures may include, forexample, electro-optical or acousto-optical elements. In such elementsthe refractive index may be varied by exposing a suitable material toultrasonic waves or electric fields, respectively. These effects can beexploited to produce index gratings that direct impinging light intovarious directions.

As a matter of course, the zoom lens system 58 and/or the pair 64 ofaxicon elements 66, 68 may be completely dispensed with. The fly-eyelens 72 could be replaced by any other optical element, for example adiffractive optical element, which increases the geometrical opticalflux. The use of a light mixing rod instead of a fly's eye lens is alsocontemplated. Furthermore, the mask 16 may be directly positioned in thefield plane 80 if there is no need to have an illuminated field 14having sharp edges at least along one direction. Also illuminationsystems in which first the field and then the pupil is shaped arepresently contemplated.

2. General Function of Illumination System

In the following the general function of the illumination system 12 willbe explained with reference to FIG. 4.

The collimated light beam 34 produced by the excimer laser 30 and thebeam expansion unit 32 is subdivided by the micro-lenses 40 of themicro-lens array 38 into a plurality of individual light bundles thatconverge towards the mirror elements M_(ij). Since the latter arearranged slightly in front of the back focal plane of the micro-lenses40, the area illuminated on each mirror element M_(ij) has not thegeometry of point, but of a small circular disc, as it is shown in FIG.3.

Behind the focal point the light bundles diverge again, as it is shownin FIG. 2. The zoom lens system 58 makes it possible to change the coneangle of each light bundle, and thus its diameter when it passes throughthe system pupil plane 70.

Although no optical element may be arranged in the system pupil plane70, the light filled areas produced by the mirror elements M_(ij) in thesystem pupil plane will be referred to in the following as “spots”. FIG.5 illustrates in its top portion these spots 88 if all mirrors werearranged parallel to each other. In its bottom portion a differentarrangement of the spots 88 which has been achieved by tilting themirror elements M_(ij) by suitable tilt angles. This tilting will bereferred to in the following as “adjustment”, because the mirrorelements do not necessarily have to be tilted for changing variablydeflecting the impinging light bundles. For example, the mirror surfacescould be curved, or a wedge shaped surface could be rotated.

In the arrangement shown in the bottom portion of FIG. 5 four poles eachhaving a trapezoidal shape are symmetrically formed in the system pupilplane 70. The intensity distribution within each pole, and also the sizeand geometry of the poles, may be easily varied by simply re-adjustingsome or all mirror elements M_(ij). Consequently, the illuminationsystem 12 makes it possible to produce almost any arbitrary intensitydistribution in the system pupil plane 70, and thus to freely vary theangular distribution of light impinging on the mask 16.

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of the overall structure of theillumination system 12 shown in FIG. 2. The horizontal arrows 90 shownon the left hand side of FIG. 6 indicate projection light which impingeson the components that make it possible to produce a variable intensitydistribution in the system pupil plane 70. These components include themicro-lens array 38, the mirror array 46, the zoom lens system 58 andthe pair 64 of axicon elements 66, 68. These components mainly determinethe intensity distribution in the system pupil plane 70 and are referredto in FIG. 6 with the term “pupil shaping components”.

The shape of the field 14 illuminated on the mask 16 is mainlydetermined by the remaining optical components, namely the opticalintegrator 72, the condenser 78, the field stop 82 and the field stopobjective 84. These components are arranged between the system pupilplane 70 and the mask plane 86 and are referred to in FIG. 6 with theterm “field shaping components”.

3. Control of Mirror Elements 3.1 General Control Scheme

In the following a general control scheme will be explained that may beapplied when controlling the mirror elements M_(ij). According to thisscheme the determination of control signals for the mirror elementsM_(ij) is divided into a plurality of steps that are illustrated in theflow diagram of FIG. 7.

Step S1

In a first step S1 a target intensity distribution in the system pupilplane 70 is determined.

One may also start in a previous step (not shown in FIG. 7) from anangular light distribution in the mask plane 86 and determine the targetintensity distribution in the system pupil plane 70 by simulations ormeasurements. Usually the angular light distribution in the mask plane86 shall be identical for all field points. However, in some cases itmay be advantageous to illuminate specific masks 16 with an angularlight distribution which depends on the field position.

If the target intensity distribution in the system pupil plane 70 isderived from a target angular distribution in the mask plane 86 bymeasurements, it should be ensured that the intensity distribution ismeasured directly in the system pupil plane 70, and the angulardistribution is directly measured in the mask plane 86. Since such ameasurement is often difficult or even impossible, for example becausethere is no space left to insert any measurement equipment in the systempupil plane 70, a determination by simulation will often be the desiredapproach.

If the target intensity distribution in the system pupil plane 70 isderived from a target angular distribution in the mask plane 86 bysimulation, aberrations introduced by optical elements arranged betweenthe system pupil plane 70 and the mask plane 86 may be taken intoaccount. In an ideal case the Fourier relationship between the systempupil plane 70 and the mask plane 86 is exactly fulfilled. This impliesthat the sine condition prevails for all points in the system pupilplane 70. Then positions in the system pupil plane 70 correctlytranslate into angles in the mask plane 86, and vice versa.

However, in real systems the Fourier relationship is not exactlyfulfilled because the optical elements arranged between the system pupilplane 70 and the mask plane 86 are subject to optical aberrations. Oneresult of such aberrations may be, for example, that the system pupilsurface is not a plane, but a curved surface. If such aberrations exceedcertain threshold values, they should be taken into account when controlsignals for the mirror elements M_(ij) are determined if the targetintensity distribution in the system pupil plane 70 is derived from atarget angular distribution in the mask plane 86 by simulation.

Step S2

In a second step S2 an arrangement of spots in the system pupil surfaceis determined that approximates the target intensity distributiondetermined in step S1. This step S2 may involve the application of analgorithm which will be referred to in the following as “pupilalgorithm”. This algorithm will generally involve as input data thetotal number of available spots, the spot shapes (which may include theintensity distributions within each spot), and also (if applicable) anydependencies of these quantities on the spot position. The pupilalgorithm then distributes the available spots over the usable systempupil plane 70 until the arrangement of the spots approximates as closeas possible the target intensity distribution determined in step S1. Tothis end the pupil algorithm may employ probabilistic meta-algorithmssuch as the simulated annealing algorithm.

If the mirror control unit 50 detects a partial or full failure of asingle mirror element M_(ij), it may supply this information to thepupil algorithm. The pupil algorithm may then recalculate a suitablearrangement of spot positions which results in a intensity distributionin the system pupil plane 70 which approximates as accurately aspossible the target intensity distribution determined in step S1.

In section 3.2 below the determination of the spot shape will beexplained in more detail.

Step S3

In a next step S3 a function is assigned to each mirror element M_(ij)which describes the relationship between positions of a spot illuminatedby the mirror element M_(ij) in the system pupil plane 70 on the onehand and the deflection angle produced by the mirror element M_(ij) whenproducing the light spots on the other hand. The term “deflection angle”shall encompass in this context also physical quantities that areequivalent to the deflection angle, for example the orientation of asurface normal on the mirror element M_(ij) or the tilt angles set by anappropriate control signal.

The determination of this function is subject of section 3.3 below.

Step S4

In a next step S4 deflection angles are determined that are involved toobtain the arrangement of spots, which has been determined in step S2,by using the function determined in step S3. After this determination itis clear which deflection angles have to be caused by the mirrorelements M_(ij) in order to produce the target intensity distribution inthe system pupil plane 70 that has been determined in step S1.

Step S5

In a last step S5 control signals are supplied to the mirror elementsM_(ij) that ensure that the deflection angles determined in step S4 areproduced. In the simplest case a feed-forward control scheme is applied,i.e. there is a fixed relationship between control signals on the onehand and deflection angles on the other hand. This relationship may beexpressed as a look-up table or as a function, for example. If a certaindeflection angle has to be set, the corresponding control signal isdetermined from the look-up table or the function and supplied to theindividual mirror element M_(ij) in question.

In the case of a closed-loop control, the deflection angle determined instep S4 is only supplied as a target value for the closed-loop control.An additional measurement device measures the actual deflection angle,for example by measuring the tilt angle of the mirror surfaces, andcompares the actual values to the target values.

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of the main components that areinvolved to carry out the control scheme outlined above with referenceto FIG. 7. It should be noted that the determination of the target pupilshape and the computation of the spot arrangement (pupil algorithm) maybe carried out on an external computer. The adjustment of the mirrors,which may involve the application of a closed-loop control, may becarried out within the projection exposure apparatus, for example in theoverall system control 52 and the mirror control unit 52.

The determination of the spot shapes that are provided to the pupilalgorithm is subject of the following section.

3.2 Spot Shape Determination

In the following it will be explained in more detail how the spot shapesmay be determined that have to be provided to the pupil algorithm.

Ideally the spots produced by the mirror elements M_(ij) in the systempupil plane 70 have identical sizes, geometries and intensitydistributions for all mirror elements M_(ij) and irrespective of thelocation where the spot is positioned in the system pupil plane 70. Inreal illuminations systems, however, at least some of these assumptionsmay not be (sufficiently) fulfilled. Such imperfections will have theresult that the obtained intensity distribution in the system pupilplane 70 differs from the intensity distribution that would be needed toobtain the desired angular light distribution in the mask plane 86.

One cause for such a non-ideal behavior are aberrations associated withthe pupil shaping components. Another cause are aberrations of opticalelements that are involved to illuminate the mirror elements M_(ij). Thelight 90 impinging on the mirror elements M_(ij) then has non-idealproperties. For example, the total intensity and the angulardistribution of the light bundles impinging on the individual mirrorelements M_(ij) may vary, because the collimated beam 34 has not aperfectly homogenous intensity and angular distribution, or because themicro-lenses 40 of the micro-lens array 38 have different focal lengthsor scattering properties. If the mirror elements M_(ij) are illuminateddifferently, the spots produced in the system pupil plane 70 by themirror elements M_(ij) will also differ, and thus the desired intensitydistribution in the system pupil plane 70 cannot be easily be obtained.

Since it is usually not possible to completely eliminate the aberrationsthat result in the non-ideal behavior of the pupil shaping components,it is desirable to take the effects of these aberrations, i.e. the spotsize variations, into account computationally.

Spot Shape Determination by Simulation

If the spot shape variations have mainly systematic causes and do notsubstantially depend on tolerances and other caused associated withsingle illumination systems, such variations may be determined solely bysimulation. As is shown in the schematic illustration of FIG. 9, such asimulation of the spot shapes will usually involve that the intensitydistribution produced by a single mirror element M_(ij) in the systempupil plane 70 is determined with the help of standard optics designprograms, for example using ray tracing methods. This computation may berepeated for different angular orientations of each mirror elementM_(ij). The spot shapes determined in this way for each mirror elementM_(ij) are supplied to the pupil algorithm as input data. If the spotshape depends on the spot position, also the deflection desired toproduce the spot at the various positions should be provided to thepupil algorithm.

With a dotted line those steps in this process that have to be carriedout within the illumination system 12 are separated from the remainingsteps that could, at least in principle, be carried out also in anexternal computer. The only data that have to be transmitted betweenthis external computer and the illumination system 12 are the targetpositions determined by the pupil algorithm. The illumination systemsupplies these target positions to the mirror control unit 50 whichcontrols the adjustment of the mirror elements M_(ij) such that theangular target positions determined by the pupil algorithm are realized.With this approach which does not involve any measurements, the targetpositions computed by the pupil algorithm are independent from thespecific illumination system so that they can be supplied to allillumination systems having the same design.

This approach may also be used for more complex tasks. For example, itmay be desired that the angular distribution in the mask plane 86depends on the field position. This can be accomplished by illuminatingcorresponding portions of the system pupil plane 70 from differentdirections, exploiting the fact that the optical integrator 72 is notideal in the sense that the angular distribution produced by the opticalintegrator 72 is independent on the direction of the impinging light. Bychanging this direction it is therefore possible to “address” certainpoints in the mask plane 86. For example, if one pole in a system pupilplane 70 is illuminated substantially from one direction and an oppositepole is illuminated substantially from an opposite direction, differentpoints in the mask plane 86 will be exposed to different asymmetricalangular distributions although both poles are illuminated with the sameintensity.

Spot Shape Determination by Measurement

Instead of determining the spot shape by simulation, measurements may becarried out that also take into account aberrations that only occur witha specific illumination system, for example effects caused bymanufacturing tolerances.

Such a measurement may be carried out by tilting all but one mirrorelements M_(ij) into an “off” position in which no light is reflectedinto the system pupil plane 70. With a pupil measuring sensor, which maybe arranged in the mask plane 86 and measures the angular distributionof light impinging on a particular field point, it is possible todetermine the spot shape produced by the mirror element which is in the“on” state. This involves a transformation of the measured angulardistribution in the mask plane 86 into an intensity distribution in thesystem pupil plane 70. This transformation may take into account theoptical effects produced by the optical elements arranged between thesystem pupil plane 70 and the mask plane 86.

This measurement is repeated for a plurality of different tilt angles ofthe mirrors. From the data obtained from this series of measurements adirect link can be established between the deflection, which is producedby the mirror element M_(ij), and the spot shapes produced at thevarious positions.

Then the same measurements are repeated for another mirror elementM_(ij). In order to accelerate this process, the measurements may becarried out simultaneously for a number of mirror elements M_(ij). Thisonly involves that the mirror elements M_(ij) illuminate clearlydistinct regions in the system pupil plane 70 so that it is possible tounambiguously assign the data obtained in the pupil measuring sensor tothe mirror elements that are presently in an “on” state.

Instead of measuring the spot shape with the help of a pupil measurementsensor arranged in the mask plane 86, the spot shape may be directlymeasured in the system pupil plane 70. To this end a position resolvingsensor, for example a CCD sensor, may be inserted into the beam path atthe axial position of the system pupil plane 70. After the measurementsthis sensor is removed from the beam path. However, this approachinvolves that there is sufficient space in or in the vicinity of thesystem pupil plane 70 to insert any measurement equipment.

Another option to carry out a measurement in the system pupil plane 70is the provision of a beam splitter that separates a small portion ofthe light from the beam path and directs this portion to a positionresolving sensor, for example a CCD sensor. This approach has theadvantage that the beam splitter can be arranged at any position wherethere is sufficient space to accommodate the splitter. Additionaloptical elements arranged between the beam splitter and the sensor maybe provided that have the same or at least a similar effect as thoseoptical elements that are provided between the beam splitter and thesystem pupil plane 70. This ensures that the optical effects produced bythe optical elements arranged between the beam splitter and the systempupil plane 70 are fully taken into account, and thus the intensitydistribution on the sensor is at least substantially identical to theintensity distribution obtained in the system pupil plane 70. Thisapproach to measure the intensity distribution in the system pupil plane70 is described in German patent application DE 10 2006 054 746.2 whichwas filed Nov. 21, 2006 by the applicant.

The measurement of the spot shape is schematically shown in FIG. 10.This figure differs from FIG. 9 only in that the spot shape is notcomputed, but measured, and in that the spot shape determination iscarried out in the illumination system 12 and not in an externalcomputer.

Spot Shape Determination by Simulation and Measurement

In certain cases a portion of the spot shape variations are systematic,and another portion depends on the specific illumination system. Forexample, the spot shape as such may only have a systematic variation,whereas other spot related parameters such as the total intensity in aspot may significantly differ from one illumination system to the otheralthough the illumination systems are otherwise identical.

In this case the pupil algorithm may be separated into two differentparts, as it is illustrated in FIG. 11. The first part, which involvesthe time consuming computation of spot shapes, can be carried out in anexternal computer and yields system independent results. The second parttakes into account the specific properties of the particularillumination system and adapts the target positions supplied by thefirst part.

Irrespective whether the spot shape is determined by simulation or bymeasurements, it is usually sufficient to describe the spot shape onlyby a small number of parameters and not by pixel information. Thisconsiderably reduces the amount of data that has to be supplied andconsidered by the pupil algorithm.

3.3 Mirror Adjustment

As has been explained above, the pupil algorithm only determines wherethe spots produced by the individual mirror elements M_(ij) have to bepositioned in the system pupil plane 70 (step S2). In the following itwill be explained how the function mentioned in step S3 may bedetermined.

Simulation

In a simulation, which is illustrated by FIG. 12, it can be determinedfor each mirror element M_(ij) how the spot position in the system pupilplane 70 depends on the deflection produced by the mirror elementM_(ij), and thus on the tilt angle.

To this end the position of the spots has to be calculated for a numberof different tilt angles of the respective mirror element M_(ij). Sinceonly the position, but not the shape of the spots has to be determinedin this way, only a small number of light rays have to be traced forobtaining the dependency of the spot position on the tilt angles.

The data obtained in this way are then reversed so that the tilt anglesare obtained as a discrete function of the spot positions. These datamay be stored in a look-up table, or they may form the basis for a fitfunction that analytically describes the dependency of the tilt anglesfrom the spot positions.

On the basis of the spot target positions calculated by the pupilalgorithm it is then possible to determine, for each mirror, the tiltangles that are desired for the adjustment of the mirror elementsM_(ij). This calculation of the tilt angles may be completely carriedout by an external computer so that only a small amount of data, namelythe target tilt angles for each mirror element M_(ij), have to besupplied to the mirror control unit 50 of the illumination system 12.

Measurement

Alternatively, the relationship between the spot position and the tiltangles of the mirror elements M_(ij) can be determined by measurements,as is illustrated in FIG. 13. To this end the spot position is measuredfor different tilt angles set for an individual mirror element M_(ij).Similarly to the measurements of the spot shape, also the spot positioncan be determined by a pupil measuring sensor that measures the angulardistribution of light in the mask plane 86. Also in the case of ameasurement the relation tilt angles—spot position have to be inverted,and a fit function may be used instead of a look-up table that alsoprovides tilt angles for interpolated spot positions.

Also in this context it may be envisaged to measure the spot positionnot indirectly by measuring an angular distribution in the mask plane86, but directly in the system pupil plane 70 or using a sensor on whicha small portion of the light is directed with the help of a beamsplitter, as has been explained above in section 3.2 with reference tothe measurement of the spot shape.

4. General Considerations

It should be noted that the same control scheme may also be applied inillumination systems in which not the pupil, but the field is shapedfirst. In such systems the mirror elements M_(ij) are arranged in anarray which has approximately the aspect ratio of the desiredilluminated field on the mask 16. The mirror elements M_(ij) thendetermine the intensity distribution in a pupil plane of an objectivethat images the mirror elements on the mask plane. Such systems alsocontain optical elements that illuminate the mirror elements, opticalelements arranged between the mirror elements and the pupil plane, andalso a group of optical elements that provides a Fourier relationshipbetween the pupil plane and the mask plane.

II. Second Group of Embodiments 1. General Structure of IlluminationSystem

FIG. 15 is meridional section through an illumination system 112according to a second embodiment which is suitable for the use in theprojection exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 1. For the sake of clarity,the illustration of FIG. 15 is also considerably simplified and not toscale. This particularly implies that different optical units arerepresented by very few optical elements only. In reality, these unitsmay include significantly more lenses and other optical elements.

The illumination system 112 includes a housing 28 and a light sourcethat is, in the embodiment shown, realized as an excimer laser 130. Theexcimer laser 130 emits projection light that has a wavelength of about193 nm. Other wavelengths, for example 248 nm or 157 nm, are alsocontemplated.

The projection light emitted by the excimer laser 130 enters a beamexpansion unit 132 in which the light bundle is expanded. After passingthrough the beam expansion unit 132, the projection light impinges on afirst optical raster element formed by a diffractive optical element(DOE) 134. The diffractive optical element 134 is received in a firstexchange holder 136 so that it can easily be replaced by otherdiffractive optical element producing different angular distributions.The diffractive optical element 134 includes, in the embodiment shown,one or more diffraction gratings that deflect each incident ray suchthat a divergence is introduced. This means that at each location on theoptical raster element 134, light is diffracted within a certain rangeof angles. This range may extend, for example, from −3° to +3°. In FIG.2 this is schematically represented for an axial ray that is split intotwo diverging rays 138, 140. The diffractive optical element 134 thusmodifies the angular distribution of the projection light and influencesthe far field intensity distribution.

The diffractive optical element 134 is positioned in a front focal plane142 of a zoom lens group 146 which collimates the diverging light raysemerging from the diffractive optical element 134. By adjusting the zoomlens group 146 it is thus possible to vary the diameter of theprojection light bundle. This at least substantially collimated lightbundle then enters a pair 148 of axicon elements 150, 152 havingopposing conical faces. If both axicon elements 150, 152 are in contact,the axicon pair 148 has the effect of a plate having parallel planesurfaces. If both elements 150, 152 are moved apart, the spacing betweenthe axicon elements 150, 152 results in a shift of light energy radiallyoutward. A light bundle having a cross section of a circular disk willthus be transformed into a light bundle having the cross section of aring. Since axicon elements are known as such in the art, these will notbe explained here in further detail.

Reference numeral 154 denotes a system pupil plane of the illuminationsystem 112. Immediately in front of the system pupil plane 154 a secondoptical raster element 156 is arranged, which may include a plurality ofmicro-lens arrays. The second optical raster element 156 produces aplurality of secondary light sources in the system pupil plane 154. Thesecondary light sources may produce light with different divergencesalong the X and Y directions. For example, if the illuminated field 14has the shape of a curved slit as is shown in FIG. 1, the exit sidenumerical aperture of the second optical raster element 156 may be inthe range from 0.28 to 0.35 in the X-direction and in the range from0.07 to 0.09 in the Y-direction. The divergence introduced by the secondoptical raster element 156 is schematically represented in FIG. 15 bydivergent rays 138 a, 138 b and 140 a, 140 b emerging from two differentsecondary light sources.

The diverging rays 138 a, 138 b and 140 a, 140 b emerging from thesecond optical raster element 156 enter a condenser 160. The front focalplane of the condenser 160 coincides with the system pupil plane 154,and the back focal plane will be referred to in the following as objectplane 162. Thus a diverging light bundle emerging from a particularsecondary light source in the system pupil plane 154 leaves thecondenser 160 as parallel light bundles and completely illuminates theobject plane 162. On the other hand, all light rays emerging from thesecondary light sources under the same angle will converge to a singlepoint in the object plane 162 (see dotted area in FIG. 2).

In or in close proximity to the object plane 162 a field stop 164 ispositioned. A field stop objective 166 optically conjugates the objectplane 162 to an image plane in which the mask 16 is positioned duringthe exposure operation. This image plane will therefore be referred toin the following as mask plane 168. The field stop objective 166 thusimages the field stop 164 arranged in the object plane 162 onto the mask16 and ensures sharp edges of the illuminated field 14 at least for theshort lateral sides extending along the Y-direction.

2. Layout of Diffractive Optical Element

The main difference between the illumination system 12 shown in FIG. 2and the illumination system 112 shown in FIG. 15 is that the diffractiveoptical element 134 replaces the array 46 of tiltable mirror elementsM_(ij). In the following an approach for an improved layout scheme forthe diffractive optical element 134 will be explained.

2.1 Conventional Approach

Conventionally an intensity distribution in the system pupil plane 154is determined in a first step. Then a diffractive optical element 134 isdesigned that produces in this intensity distribution in a Fourierrelated plane. In a Fourier related plane the sine condition appliesexactly. The sine condition involves that a ray emerging from a firstplane under an angle α will intersect a Fourier related second planewith a ray height p wherein p is proportional to sin(α).

Sometimes the intensity distribution in the Fourier related plane isalso referred to as far field intensity distribution although this agood approximation only for small angles for which tan(α)≈sin(α).

The determination of the angular light distribution to be produced bythe diffractive optical element therefore involves the task ofcalculating the inverse Fourier transform of the desired intensitydistribution in the system pupil plane 154.

If the angular light distribution to be produced is known, use is madeof known algorithms that make it possible to determine diffractingstructures on the element such that the desired angular lightdistribution is obtained. A type of diffractive optical elements thatcan be used in this respect is sometimes referred to as computergenerated holograms (CGH).

As a matter of course, certain constraints of a more technologicalnature restrict the variety of intensity distributions that may beproduced with a diffractive optical element. For example, the steepnessof the slopes of the intensity distribution cannot exceed certainthreshold values because this would involve ideal illuminationconditions of the diffractive optical element 134, an ideal layout ofthe diffractive optical element as such and also an ideal point spreadfunction of any optical elements arranged between the diffractiveoptical element 134 and the system pupil plane 154.

In the graph of FIG. 16 broken lines 102 represent an exemplary desiredintensity distribution in the system pupil plane 54. Here it is assumedthat the intensity distribution consists of two poles that are arrangedsymmetrically with respect to the optical axis OA along the X direction.The desired intensity distribution 102 has infinitely steep slopes and aconstant intensity within the illuminated area. Constant intensitydistributions between slopes (infinite or not) are also referred to astop-hat distributions.

The solid lines 104 represent the intensity distribution in a Fourierrelated plane produced by a diffractive optical element 134 that hasbeen conventionally designed so as to achieve the desired intensitydistribution 102. As can be seen, the slopes of the real intensitydistribution 104 are finite, but nevertheless the rectangular intensitydistribution 102 is approximated to a very good degree.

However, in the conventional approach the effects produced by the zoomlens group 146 and the pair 148 of axicon elements 150, 152 areneglected to the extent that it is simply assumed that a Fourierrelationship applies. However, the axicon elements 150, 152 stronglyviolate the sine condition if they are not in contact, and also the zoomlens group 146 usually introduces aberrations that result in violationsof the sine condition.

In the graph of FIG. 17 the solid lines 106 represent the intensitydistribution which is finally obtained in the system pupil plane 154with the diffractive optical element 134 if the optical effects of thezoom lens group 146 and the pair 148 of axicon elements 150, 152 (in agiven configuration) are taken into account. It can be clearly seen bycomparing the graphs shown in FIGS. 17 and 16 that the optical elementsconsiderably modify the intensity distribution.

The zoom lens group 146 and the axicon elements 150, 152 contributedifferently to this modification. By adjusting the zoom lens group 146it is possible to vary the diameter of the illuminated region in thesystem pupil plane 154. Ideally the intensity distribution remainsuniform when the focal length of the zoom lens system 146 is changed.However, in real zoom lens systems 146 there may be significantdeviations from this ideal behavior. For example, light may beconcentrated more in the center of the illuminated area when the focallength is changed.

The axicon elements 150, 152, however, shift—if spaced apart—energyradially outward. It can be shown that the slopes of the inner flanks ofthe intensity distribution 106 are almost inversely proportional to thedistance between the axicon elements 150, 152. With the maximum distancebetween the axicon elements 150, 152 these slopes reach their minimumsteepness.

As a result of these effects, the approximation to the desired intensitydistribution 102 deteriorates, and in particular the top-hat property isalmost completely lost. Thus it may happen that the angular distributionin the mask plane 168 obtained with the diffractive optical element 134may significantly differ from what has been expected on the basis of thefar-field intensity distribution 104 produced by the diffractive opticalelement 134 alone, i.e. in the absence of the zoom lens group 146 andthe axicon elements 150, 152.

It should be noted that deviations always occur if the optical elementsarranged between the diffractive optical element 134 and the systempupil plane 154 do not exactly fulfill the sine condition. For example,in illumination systems that completely dispense with a condenserbetween the diffractive optical element 134 and the system pupil plane154, only the far-field intensity distribution is obtained. As explainedabove, the far-field intensity distribution is only a good approximationto a Fourier related intensity distribution.

2.1 New Approach

According to the disclosure the optical effects produced by the zoomlens group 146 and the pair 148 of axicon elements 150, 152 (or anyother optical element arranged between the diffractive optical element134 and the syste pupil plane 154) are taken into account when theoptical element 134 is designed. Since the optical effects produced bythe zoom lens group 146 and the axicon elements 150, 152 are known, thediffractive optical element can be designed such that it compensates forthe modifications introduced by these elements. For example, if theaxicon elements 150, 152 shift energy radially outward, the diffractiveoptical element 134 has to concentrate more energy in the centre of thesystem pupil plane 154.

The graph shown in FIG. 18 indicates with solid lines 108 an intensitydistribution produced in a Fourier related plane by a diffractiveoptical element 134 that is designed in accordance with this newapproach. By comparing this intensity distribution 108 with theintensity distribution 104 shown in FIG. 16, it becomes clear that moreenergy is directed by the diffractive optical element 134 into smallangles (i.e. small absolute values of the x coordinate). The intensitydistribution 108 produced by the diffractive optical element 134 thusconsiderably differs from the desired intensity distribution 102indicated in broken lines.

However, in combination with the zoom lens group 146 and the pair 148 ofaxicon elements 150, 152, the intensity distribution produced in thesystem pupil plane 154 approximates very accurately the desiredintensity distribution 102. This is shown in the graph of FIG. 18 inwhich the actual intensity distribution produced by the diffractiveoptical element 134 in combination with the zoom lens group 146 and thepair 148 of axicon elements 150, 152 is indicated by solid lines 110.

It is to be understood that this approximation can only be achieved witha certain configuration of the zoom lens group 146 and the pair 148 ofaxicon elements 150, 152. If the focal length of the zoom lens group 146and/or the distance between the axicon elements 150, 152 is varied,these components will produce a different optical effect, and theapproximation may slightly deteriorate. Nevertheless a significantimprovement as compared to the conventional approach illustrated inFIGS. 16 and 17 can be achieved also for other configurations of thezoom lens group 146 and the pair 148 of axicon elements 150, 152. Apartfrom that, many non-conventional illumination settings in which theintensity distribution in the system pupil plane 154 includes aplurality of separated areas involve the axicon elements are in contactso that they have only the effect of a plate having plane and parallelsurfaces. Then (if any) only the smaller adverse effects of changes ofthe focal lengths in the zoom lens group 146 have to be taken intoaccount.

It is even possible to take into account third or higher order opticalaberrations produced in the zoom optical system 146 and the pair 148 ofaxicon elements 150, 152 when determining the angular light distributionto be produced by the diffractive optical element 134. Also theseaberrations depend on the actual configuration of the zoom opticalsystem 146 and the pair 148 of axicon elements 150, 152.

In still another embodiment not only optical properties and aberrationsrelated to the optical elements arranged between the diffractive opticalelement 134 and the system pupil plane 154, but also (or exclusively) ofoptical elements arranged between the system pupil plane 154 and themask plane 168 are taken into account when the angular lightdistribution to be produced by the diffractive optical element 134 isdetermined. For example, if the condenser 160 does not fulfill the sinecondition for larger distances from the optical axis OA, the diffractiveoptical element 134 may be designed such that this effect is taken intoaccount by either shifting energy to larger or to smaller diffractionangles. Then the system pupil plane 154 will be illuminated in such away that the variations of the sine conditions are compensated for.

As can be seen in FIG. 19, in a sub-region which has an area which is atleast 80% of the total area of each pole, the maximum variations of theintensity relative to a mean intensity I_(m) in this sub-region is lessthan 10%. In FIG. 19 the sub-region has along the x coordinate a widthw, and the total area of the pole has the width w_(tot). If I_(m) is themean intensity in this sub-region, the maximum variations ΔI_(max) fromthe mean intensity Im are bolow 20%, such as below 10%, in thissub-region.

FIG. 20 shows an actual intensity distribution in the system pupilsurface 154 as produced by the diffractive optical element 134,illuminator optics and a pupil shaping optical subsystem. Theilluminator optics includes the laser 130 and the beam expansion unit132. The pupil shaping optical subsystem is formed by all componentsarranged between the diffractive optical element 134 and the systempupil surface 154.

The intensity distribution shown in FIG. 20 corresponds to an X dipoleillumination setting. In this setting the polar width is 35°, the innerσ is 0.8, and the outer σ is 0.99. The inner σ is defined as the pupilradius in which 10% of the light intensity is in the pupil. The outer σis defined as the pupil radius in which 90% of the illumination lightintensity is in the pupil. The polar width is defined as the openingangle between radii which de-limit an area illuminated in the pupilplane and at which the intensity has fallen to 50% of the maximumintensity of this area.

FIG. 21 shows another actual intensity distribution in the system pupilsurface 154 as produced by the diffractive optical element 134,illuminator optics and a pupil shaping optical subsystem. The intensitydistribution shown in FIG. 21 corresponds to a Y dipole illuminationsetting. In this setting the polar width is 35°, the inner σ is 0.3 andthe outer σ is 0.5.

Both intensity distributions have been produced using a diffractiveoptical element 134 which is designed such that it produces an angulardistribution having a Fourier transform that significantly differs fromthe intensity distributions shown in FIGS. 20 and 21. More particularly,this Fourier transform has values for the inner and/or the outer σ thatdiffer by more than 0.01, and for certain illuminator optics and pupilshaping optical subsystems by more than 0.02, from the values indicatedabove for the intensity distributions actually obtained in the systempupil surface 154. Furthermore, this Fourier transform has a value forthe polar width that differs by more than 1°, and for certainilluminator optics and pupil shaping optical subsystems by more than 2°,from the values indicated above for the intensity distributions actuallyobtained in the system pupil surface 154.

The same also applies to annular illumination settings that can bedescribed by the same pupil quantities (inner and outer σ, polar width)as mentioned above.

III. Final Remarks

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the determination ofthe angular light distribution, which is produced by the pupil shapingcomponents, for example tiltable mirror elements M_(ij) or a diffractiveoptical element, and which is involved to obtain a desired intensitydistribution in the system pupil surface, may involve the considerationof aberrations. As is summarized in the flow diagram of FIG. 14, theseaberrations may be produced by the optics illuminating the pupil shapingoptical subsystem, the pupil shaping optical subsystem itself, and/oroptical elements arranged between system pupil surface and mask plane.

The above description has been given by way of example. From thedisclosure given, those skilled in the art will not only understand thepresent disclosure and its attendant advantages, but will also findapparent various changes and modifications to the structures and methodsdisclosed. The applicant seeks, therefore, to cover all such changes andmodifications as fall within the spirit and scope of the disclosure, asdefined by the appended claims, and equivalents thereof.

1. (canceled)
 2. A system for illuminating a mask in amicro-lithographic projection exposure apparatus, the system comprising:a beam deflecting component, the beam deflecting component configured toproduce an intensity distribution in a pupil surface of the system, thebeam deflecting component comprising a beam deflection array ofreflective or transparent beam deflecting elements, each beam deflectingelement configured to illuminate a corresponding spot in the pupilsurface having a position that can be varied by changing a deflectionangle produced by the beam deflecting element; one or more opticalelements configured to illuminate the beam deflecting component; one ormore optical elements arranged between the beam deflecting component andthe pupil surface, configured to direct light from the beam deflectingarray to the pupil surface; and a controller configured to supplycontrol signals to the beam deflecting elements to vary the deflectionangles, the controller being programmed to: i) determine an arrangementof spots in the pupil surface that approximates a target intensitydistribution; ii) determine, for each of the beam deflecting elements, afunction relating a position of the corresponding spot illuminated bythe beam deflecting element in the pupil surface and the deflectionangle produced by the beam deflecting element when illuminating thespot; iii) determine, using the functions determined in ii), deflectionangles for each of the beam deflecting elements to obtain thearrangement of spots; and iv) supply the control signals to the beamdeflecting elements such that the deflection angles determined in iii)are produced.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the beam deflectingelements are tiltable mirror elements, and wherein the deflection angleproduced by each beam deflecting element is determined by a tilt angle.4. The system of claim 2, wherein the beam deflecting elements arediffractive optical elements.
 5. The system of claim 2, wherein thecontroller comprises a beam deflecting component control unit.
 6. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein at least part of the controller is located onan external computer.
 7. The system of claim 2, wherein the controlleris programmed to determine the function assigned to a beam deflectingelement using a look-up table.
 8. The system of claim 2, wherein thecontroller is programmed to determine the function assigned to thecorresponding beam deflecting element using a predetermined fitfunction.
 9. The system of claim 2, wherein the controller is programmedto determine the function assigned to the corresponding beam deflectingelement using simulation.
 10. The system of claim 2, wherein thecontroller is programmed to determine the function assigned to thecorresponding beam deflecting element using measurements.
 11. The systemof claim 2, wherein the controller is programmed to determine thearrangement of spots by application of a pupil algorithm, the pupilalgorithm using as input a total number of available spots and a shapeof a spot.
 12. The system of claim 2, wherein the deflection anglessupplied to the control unit are target values for a closed-loop controlscheme.
 13. The system of claim 2, wherein the controller is programmedto determine the function assigned to the corresponding beam deflectingelement by taking into account an aberration produced by one or more ofthe optical elements configured to illuminate the beam deflectingcomponent.
 14. The system of claim 2, wherein the controller isprogrammed to determine the function assigned to the corresponding beamdeflecting element by taking into account an aberration produced by oneor more of the optical elements configured to direct light from the beamdeflecting array to the pupil surface.
 15. The system of claim 14,wherein the aberration is a deviation from a sine condition.
 16. Amicro-lithographic projection exposure system comprising the system ofclaim 2, the microlithographic projection exposure system furthercomprising: a mask stage for aligning the mask; a projection objective;and a wafer alignment stage.
 17. The system of claim 18, furthercomprising a field shaping subsystem comprising one or more opticalelements configured to direct light from the pupil surface to the maskstage.
 18. The system of claim 16, wherein at least part of thecontroller is located within an enclosure of the microlithographicprojection exposure apparatus.
 19. The system of claim 16, wherein atleast part of the controller is located external to an enclosure of themicrolithographic projection exposure apparatus.